Cooler assembly

ABSTRACT

A cooler assembly having cross-directional ventilation effect and increased heat conducting surface area is disclosed. The cooler assembly has a heat sink and a plurality of fins. The heat sink has an air circulating channel open therethrough, and each of the fins has a slot allowing the fin mounted across the heat sink, and a contact pair that separate the neighboring fins with spaces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates in general to a cooler assembly and, more particularly, to a cooler assembly which does not provide the enhanced heat dissipation, but also provide the fastening function.

[0002] Various kinds of cooler structures for electronic products have been developed. Among the currently available types of coolers, the fin-type cooler provides better heat dissipation effect.

[0003] Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective exploded view of a prior art fin-type cooler is illustrated. The fin-type cooler includes a plurality of fins 11 fastened together to form a set of fins 1 which is then installed on the heat sink 2. Each of the fins 11 includes a pair of symmetric opposing side walls 111. Each of the side walls 111 includes two fastening slots 113 and two protrusions 112, such that the neighboring fins 11 can be connected together by engaging the protrusions 112 with the slots 113; and thereby, the set of fins 1 is assembled, and the side walls 111 are joined together to form a pair of opposing planar side walls, and one of which is attached to the surface of the heat sink 2.

[0004] However, the heat conduction of this type of cooler is not fast enough. The heat dissipation area is not sufficient since though the spaces 12 provide lateral air circulation, the joined side walls 111 block longitudinal air circulation. Therefore, the heat efficiency has to be improved. Further, while applying the prior art to a heat generating device, an additional metal shield is required to cover the cooler 2 when the bottom surface thereof is adhered to the heat generating device. The metal shield is then soldered on the printed circuit board to cause additional inconvenience and drawbacks. Therefore, this kind of cooler is less convenient and effective compared to those using fastening device such as snap-on latch (for example, using a latch spring to mount a cooler on a CPU socket).

[0005] Accordingly, the Applicant has developed a reasonably designed structure that has resolved the problems occurring to the prior art structure as mentioned above.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention provides a cooler assembly to enhance the heat dissipation efficiency.

[0007] The present invention further provides a cooler that can be directly installed on a device slot such as a CPU slot by a latch spring.

[0008] The cooler assembly provided by the present invention comprises a heat sink and a plurality of fins. An air circulating channel is formed through the heat sink. Each fin includes a slot allowing the fin mounted across the heat sink, and at least one contact part protruding therefrom, such that the neighboring fins are separated from each other by a space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] These as well as other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings wherein:

[0010]FIG. 1 shows the perspective exploded view of a prior art cooler;

[0011]FIG. 2 shows the perspective exploded view of the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 3 shows the perspective assembly of the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 4 shows a side view of FIG. 3;

[0014]FIG. 5 shows a top view of FIG. 3; and

[0015]FIG. 6 shows a local cross sectional view of a cooler.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the present invention provides a cooler assembly including a three-dimensional structure of heat sink 4 and a plurality of fins 31 stacked together to form a set of fins 3.

[0017] Referring to FIG. 4, the heat sink 4 has a substantially trapezoid cross sectional profile and an air circulating channel 41 recessed from a top surface of the heat sink 4 and extending from a front surface through a rear surface thereof. Each of the fins 31 has a substantially inverse trapezoid profile and a slot 312 recessed from a bottom edge thereof. The shape of the slot 312 corresponds with the substantially trapezoid profile of the heat sink 4. Two sides of the slot 312 each has a flange 3121 protruding substantially perpendicular to the fin 31, and two top edges of each fin 31 further comprise contact parts 311 protruding substantially perpendicularly and preferably backwardly from the fin 31.

[0018] Each of the fins 31 is mounted across the heat sink 4 via the slot 312. The flanges 3121 protruding from two sides of each fin 31 provide the means for soldering the fin 31 on two side surfaces of the heat sink 4. When the fins 31 are stacked together to form the set of fins 3, spaces 32 are formed between the fins 31 due to protrusions of the contact parts 311 (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5). Therefore, the side surfaces of the heat sink 4 are enlarged to consequently increase the overall heat conducting surface of the cooler assembly. Further, the air circulating channel 41 formed in the heat sink 4 further enhances the heat dissipation efficiency.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, a latch spring 5 can be installed in the air circulating channel 41 and assembled with the cooler as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. As shown in FIG. 6, the cooler is mounted to a device socket 6 via the latch spring 5. As shown, the device socket 6 is a CPU socket in which a heat generating device 7 such as a CPU is plugged, and the cooler provided by the present invention is placed over the heat generating device 7 and mounted to the device socket 6 via the latch spring 5. The heat generating device 7 is placed between the heat sink 4 and the device socket 6, such that the heat generated by the heat generating device 7 can be easily conducted to the heat sink 4, and then dissipated via the fins 31, the spaces 32 and the air circulating channel 41. In addition, a fan (not shown) may also be placed over the set of fins 3 to reinforce heat circulation.

[0020] The profiles and shapes of the heat sink 4, the fins 31 and the slot 312 are not limited to trapezoid or inverse trapezoid. It is appreciated that other shapes such as rectangle or polygonal can also be applied to achieve the same effect without exceeding the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0021] The heat sink 4 provided by the present invention, instead of being a two-dimensional plate, includes a three-dimensional structure of which the surface area is greatly increased. Further, the formation of an air circulating channel 41 provides an elongate path of air circulation. Therefore, the cooler provided by the present invention provides a cross-directional ventilation effect and a latch spring 5 that directly mount the cooler to the heat generating device 7. In this embodiment, the cross-directional ventilation includes the longitudinal air circulation through the spaces 12 and the lateral air circulation along an elongate direction of the heat sink 4. This disclosure provides exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited by these exemplary embodiments. Numerous variations, whether explicitly provided for by the specification or implied by the specification, such as variations in structure, dimension, type of material and manufacturing process may be implemented by one of skill in the art in view of this disclosure. 

What is claimed:
 1. A cooler assembly, comprising: a heat sink, having an air circulating channel formed therethrough; and a plurality of fins, each having a slot recessed from a bottom edge thereof and at least one contact part protruding therefrom, wherein the fins are stacked together and mounted across the heat sink via the slot, and the neighboring fins are separated from each other by the contact parts.
 2. The cooler assembly of claim 1, wherein the air circulating channel is recessed from a top surface of the heat sink and penetrating through the heat sink along an elongate direction of the heat sink.
 3. The cooler assembly of claim 2, wherein each fin is mounted across two side surfaces of the heat sink.
 4. The cooler assembly of claim 1, wherein each slot opens downwardly.
 5. The cooler assembly of claim 4, wherein two side surfaces of each slot comprise a pair of flanges for soldering or adhering the fins to the heat sink.
 6. The cooler assembly of claim 1, further comprising a fastening device in the air circulating channel.
 7. The cooler assembly of claim 6, wherein two ends of the fastening device are latched with a device socket in which a heat generating device is plugged, and the heat generating device is disposed between the heat sink and the device socket.
 8. The cooler assembly of claim 1, wherein the heat sink has a substantially trapezoid cross sectional profile, and each of the fins has a substantially inverse trapezoid profile.
 9. The cooler assembly of claim 1, wherein the air circulating channel opens upwardly and penetrate through the heat sink, and the fins are mounted across the side surfaces of the heat sink, and the slot of each fin opens downward and has a geometry mating the cross sectional profile of the heat sink.
 10. The cooler assembly of claim 1, wherein the slot is corresponsive with the air circulating channel.
 11. A cooler assembly, including a plurality of stacked fins mounted across a heat sink, each of the fins having a slot opening downwardly, and the heat sink comprising a through air circulating channel open upwardly. 